GRAND RAPIDS, MI – U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell sentenced Mohamad Abduljaber, 50, of Okemos, Michigan to three and a half years of imprisonment on charges of receipt of health care kickback payments and falsifying an income tax return.

The convictions arise from an Indictment which charged that between January 2004, and April 2011, Abduljaber conspired with his wife, Dr. Shannon Wiggins, to receive kickbacks for referring patients for medical testing. Abduljaber served as the office manager of his wife’s medical practice. Abduljaber also admitted signing a false tax return which did not accurately disclose cash income attributable to the billing for medical marijuana certifications. Judge Bell noted that Abduljaber’s conduct indicated a “lack of respect for the law” and that “protection of the public was very important in this matter.” Judge Bell also ordered Abduljaber to pay $285,781 in restitution and to forfeit $550,000.

Last month, Judge Bell sentenced Dr. Wiggins to two years of imprisonment for the same crimes and previously sentenced the physical therapist who paid the kickback payments, Chyawan Bansil, to 13 months of imprisonment for billing insurance companies for the same medical testing, which he admitted he never actually performed. In total to date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has collected $2.25 million in monetary damages on behalf of Medicare, $350,000 in restitution for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, $150,000 in forfeiture from Mr. Bansil, and approximately $400,000 in forfeited real property and vehicles from Dr. Wiggins.

The case against Abduljaber and Dr. Wiggins resulted from a joint investigation conducted by the Lansing Police Department, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. The kickback scheme was initially discovered by officers from the Lansing Police Department and personnel from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan who were investigating prescription drug diversion in Lansing, Michigan.

“The payment and receipt of illegal kickbacks distort the motives of health care professionals and cause unnecessary testing and expenses which increases everyone’s costs,” U.S. Attorney Miles said. “This office will continue to pursue criminal and civil proceedings, employ the resources of our law enforcement and private insurance partners, and protect the public against fraud. Medical practitioners who exploit patients and public or private health care insurance providers for unlawful and selfish financial gain face significant criminal charges and civil remedies. As this case demonstrates, those who attempt to defraud the system through illegal kickback arrangements will suffer the specter of incarceration, treble damages, civil penalties, forfeiture, and future exclusion from participating with Medicare and Medicaid.”